Rowan Sullivan, Author at FilmRoot

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Edvard Munch

Edvard Munch Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Unless you’re an art fan, you might be reading the title and thinking, “why would I want to watch a film about an old artist?” Well this isn’t just a film about an old artist. This is a film about an innovator, someone going against the zeitgeist (the ideas and beliefs of the time). Along the way you can learn about Norwegian society, conservatism in Europe, sexism, and of course art!

Why Watch Edvard Munch?

You like really good biographical films that are re-enacted perfectly
Ingmar Bergman, the King of Swedish directing said this film was a ‘work of genius’
Find out what it is like to be an innovator – complete with depression, rejection, and more…
You’re an art or history student

The Breakdown

Edvard Munch opens with a woman whispering into Munch’s ear, “you can meet me after dinner.” We later learn that the seductive woman is the elusive Miss Heiberg. However, instead of scenes of Munch with this woman, the director cuts to poor people dying of consumption in 19th Century Kristiana (the old name for Oslo). We find out that consumption is widespread in the city and that the poor work 11 hours a day.

The director (Peter Watkins) then juxtaposes the horrific life of the poor in Norway with the middle class. The middle class rules Norwegian society and are strongly conservative and protestant and seem to have a lot of free time. Munch is from the middle class, so understanding the lower classes sets a framework for us to judge him and his peers from.

The style of this docudrama is what makes it great. It compares to the great cinema verite classics like Battle of Algiers and District 9. Firstly, there are interviews with some of the minor characters, snippets from art critics that lambasted Munch, and a narrator. This matches the usual layout for the documentary genre. Secondly, Munch looks at the camera all the time, making it seem that he knows that he is being filmed for a documentary, which makes it feel more real. Lastly, everything looks as if the film was filmed in the late 1800s. The costumes are great, the buildings fit, and the actors play everything perfectly. You could be forgiven for thinking that this was a real documentary.

The film also amazingly depicts the process of creating a piece of art. Watkins reveals Munch’s emotions whilst he paints and scratches the canvas through montages of old and new memories. As a result, we can see what Munch is trying to express with his painting, allowing us to understand him, unlike his shallow critics.

Conclusion

Edvard Munch is a great film. I love a good docudrama (Battle of Algiers and District 9 are two of my favourite films) and this is no exception. In addition, Edvard Munch takes us into the world of an artist. We see the creative process right from it’s original inspirations. Munch’s paintings are bleak and violent, and Watkins reveals why. This is where you learn about late 19th century Norwegian society and how it rubs off on an innovative artist.

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This is Not a Film – Film-Making Under House Arrest

This is Not a Film Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

Panahi is an inspiration for the film industry. He made This is Not a Film whilst under government orders not to make a film (after being charged with making propaganda against the Iranian government). Luckily, Panahi cannot simply stop making films, it’s part of his nature. Also, luckily, someone smuggled this gem out of Iran on a flash drive hidden inside a cake. So consider yourself lucky that you can watch this film!

From: Iran, Asia
Watch: Trailer, Buy on Amazon, Kanopy
Next: Taxi Tehran, Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania, Lost in La Mancha

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Melancholia

Melancholia Film Difficulty Ranking: 5

As one of the longest cinematic films in existence, watching Melancholia is no easy feat. It is twice as long as Gone With the Wind or over twice as long as Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. In addition, this film feels long. There are plenty of scenes where we are watching one person in one position for five minutes or more. But you’ll miss out on a Filipino film talent if you ignore this one, and a chance to get to know the country without the long-haul flight!

Why Watch Melancholia?

You haven’t seen a 7 hour film before and fancy a challenge (14th on the longest cinematic film list on Wikipedia)
To understand the effect of the Marcos dictatorship on Filipino people – there were many desparacidos like in Argentina!
An opportunity to see different segments of Filipino society
With no music, hear the true sounds of the Philippines

The Breakdown

The film starts with a still shot of a woman in a bedroom folding clothes. After she folds her clothes and places them onto her bed, she pauses for a few minutes to contemplate. It sounds like she is sobbing as she sits on the bed, with her back to the camera. Next a fixed shot on a balcony shows her leave her room dressed up in skimpy clothes and big boots. She is a new prostitute in a small Filipino town in the country.

There is a lot you can say about this film because it is so long. However, there are a few things which remain constant throughout the film. Firstly, the pairing of fixed cameras and long takes (each around five minutes long) forms most of this film. These shots make us feel like a fly on the wall for the whole film. Unlike a Hollywood blockbuster, everything appears in real time. We see the banal acts of folding clothes, sitting down contemplating, and even sleeping. As a result, things seem more real, it is almost like we are spying on someone we don’t know.

Also unlike Hollywood blockbusters, there are no intrusive close-ups in the entire film. We cannot see the character’s faces clearly, making it harder for us to interpret their emotions. It’s hard to describe so I’ll try and distinguish it from the emotion triggered by close-ups of crying faces. Close-ups of crying faces makes the viewer sad and sometimes cry. It is also very obvious and open, creating an emotional bond between the character and the viewer. In contrast the distanced shots of people sobbing in Melancholia is partly concealed. As we cannot see their faces clearly we feel distanced and slightly intrusive. As a result, it does not feel like we can help the character’s share their emotional burdens. Their sadness is inevitable and unavoidable: Melancholia.

Conclusion

If you can afford seven and a half hours and have any interest in the Philippines, I’d recommend checking out Melancholia. It’s an intense dive into the psyche of the Marcos ruled Philippines. If you are daunted by the length but are interested in Filipino film, check out some other films from Lav Diaz (the director) such as Norte, the End of History. He is a talent!

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Key of Life

Key of Life Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

You’ve had a long day at work but your mind is too active to go to sleep. You need a light comedy to watch to relax before bed. Well try Key of Life. It’s entertaining enough to keep you watching until the end, but not taxing enough to completely exhaust you for tomorrow.

Why Watch Key of Life?

You’re in the mood for an easy-to-watch, entertaining comedy
For an identity swap (you loved the body swap in Japanese anime Your Name)
Anything can happen in a Japanese bath house!
See the pre-recorded eulogy of Kanae’s father at his own funeral

The Breakdown

Key of Life opens with Kanae, a Lifestyle magazine editor. She vacuums her desk with a pocket vacuum, looks at her calendar, and circles her marriage date. She then stands up and informs her employees that she will be getting married in a few weeks and must take some time off of work. One of her employees asks who she is getting marries to but she says that she has not met him yet. Meanwhile hit-man Kondo carries out a successful murder and Sakurai, a failing actor, fails in an attempt to kill himself.

Stereotypically, the character’s rooms help build their characters. Kondo, a precise hit-man, has a very clean apartment with everything laid out and stored exactly where it should be. His apartment exudes wealth and decisiveness. In contrast, Sakurai’s wood shack is messy. This contributes to his status as a failing creative. If he can’t organise his own apartment, how can he organise his life. Lastly, whilst we don’t see Kanae’s house, we know that she is meticulous and precise like Kondo as she keeps a calendar and vacuums her desk. The director shows her vacuuming her desk to emphasise that she is a control freak.

In a similarly obvious way, the director uses music to influence the audience. The music changes from comedic major melodies to minor chords when we should be finding the film funny or tense. For example, when Sakurai is paying off his debts with Kondo’s money the music is comedic. It signifies that we should be laughing. Just like the rooms (and desk) tells us how to judge the characters, the music tells us when to feel amused or tense.

Conclusion

Key to Life is a great film to watch when you want to have a relaxing night on the sofa before you have a good night’s sleep. It is an easy-to-watch and enjoyable Japanese identity-swap comedy. However, if you want to watch something deep and challenging, I suggest you save this film for another time. There is no room for your input in this film as all the interpretation is taken out of the film. But who needs that in a comedy anyway?

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Closed Curtain

Closed Curtain Film Difficulty Ranking: 5

“You think you can capture reality in here?”

Closed Curtain stands up for Iranian activists. To understand this film, you have to know a little a bit about the director, Jafar Panahi. After making a number of critically acclaimed films, Panahi was placed under house arrest after being charged with producing propaganda against the Iranian government. What was his reaction? To keep making films under house arrest and having them smuggled out of the country. So here’s Closed Curtain, the second film released under house arrest.

Why Watch Closed Curtain?

To experience house arrest (this was the second film Panahi directed under house arrest)
See a double decker tea-pot
For a great film from one of Iran’s top directors (check out The Circle or Taxi Tehran for another great film from Panahi)
Learn about some more of the different laws in Iran (See Divorce: Iranian Style)

The Breakdown

Through a closed gate we can see a barren beach outside of a house. A car stops on the road by the beach and a man gets out, collects a few bags, and walks slowly to the house. The man enters the house and the camera cuts to show him. Inside the house, the camera is free. The man opens his bag to reveal his pet dog. He quickly attaches dark curtains to all of the windows in the house to block out the light.

It isn’t clear from the start what is going on. The man who releases his dog into the house seems a bit crazy as he frantically covers every opening to the world outside. However, just like the woman who runs into the house 20 minutes into the movie, he is victimised by some strange laws. The TV shows us that the man is hiding his dog from death after the state has declared all dogs as unclean animals. The woman appears in the house after she is persecuted for partying on the beach. Just like the director, they have all ended up under house arrest for unjust reasons.

To make us feel under house arrest, Panahi carefully confines the camera within the house. From the start, when we see the man with the dog arrive outside the house, the camera is fixed behind the house borders. People enter and leave the house, but we only see them from the behind the house window. Through this, Panahi captures the isolation felt under house arrest as well as the limits of his artistic creativity.

Conclusion

Closed Curtain is a clever and unique way of portraying Iran. Panahi depicts Iran’s limitations through the limitations of house arrest. However, whilst the film is clever and unique, it is not Panahi’s, or Iran’s most accessible film. This is for the more experienced art-house film viewer. Therefore save this one until you’ve watched a few films with lower Film Difficulty Ranking’s before attempting this one! For another Iranian film, try Under The Shadow!